January 8 Devotion - Transformation

 

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

أَنَا الْكَرْمَةُ وَأَنْتُمُ الأَغْصَانُ. مَنْ يَثْبُتُ فِيَّ وَأَنَا فِيهِ، فَذَاكَ يُنْتِجُ ثَمَراً كَثِيراً. فَإِنَّكُمْ بِمَعْزِلٍ عَنِّي لَا تَقْدِرُونَ أَنْ تَفْعَلُوا شَيْئاً.

 

John 15:5

 

Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

وَلِي ثِقَةٌ فِي هَذَا الأَمْرِ بِالذَّاتِ: أَنَّ الَّذِي بَدَأَ فِيكُمْ عَمَلاً صَالِحاً سَوْفَ يُتَمِّمُهُ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْمَسِيحِ يَسُوعَ.

 

Philippians 1:6 

 

Transformation as defined in the dictionary is the act of changing form. When we try to live the Christian life depending on our own strength, we fail.

When we are born again by accepting Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, the Holy Spirit comes to live within us. 

When we come to the conclusion that we cannot succeed on our own and surrender to The Holy Spirit, that is when we move from trying to trusting; and that trans-form-ation helps us to start flourishing in our Christian faith journey as we change spiritual form. The Holy Spirit will continue to transform us to increase our faith and help us become more and more Christ-like till the day we meet Jesus in person.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, I acknowledge that I can do nothing apart from Christ. Lord, I trust that The Holy Spirit within me is the only force that will make me able to live according to Your commandments. Father God, I thank You for Your abundant blessings and Your deep, everlasting, and inseparable love. I trust that Jesus, who has started this Christian growth journey in my life, will continue to work in me to make me more like Him every day. In the holy name of Jesus, I pray. To Jesus be the glory, the power, and the dominion since the beginning of time, now and forevermore. Amen.

 

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein